Recently, the Stanford rape case has come to the forefront of social media and people’s minds. The leadership team of the Respect Movement would like to respond.

First and foremost we send our love and support to the brave young woman and her family who have been going through this process. We maintain that there is no circumstance or situation where sexual assault is acceptable.

Second, we want to recognize and honor the two men from Stanford who stepped in to stop the assault and apprehend the perpetrator. They very clearly exemplified our core values of rejecting passivity and leading courageously as they initiated the respect of this young woman. They did not ignore what was happening, but took responsibility as bystanders to intervene.

The assault that took place last year is not an isolated event. Nationwide, one in four women will experience attempted or completed sexual assault by the time they graduate college. Cases like this one continue to show us the very need for the work that the Respect Movement is doing. We urge men and women to join the movement and build a culture of respect so that we can see #NoMore1in4.